Elyse Imoto

Her Campus at UC Riverside is pleased to present this week’s campus celebrity: Elyse Imoto. She has an eye for design and marches to the beat of her own drum!!

Major: Studio Art with a Minor in Business
Age: 21
Hometown: Torrance, CA

Check out Elyse’s photography blog: http://imotography.tumblr.com/ .

What organizations are you involved in and what are your positions?
I am currently the President of the Nikkei Student Union (NSU), which is a Japanese-American Social and Cultural Club. I am also part of Senryu Taiko, a Japanese Drumming Group. In Senryu I am just a regular member, but last year I was the costume manager.

What is a typical day in the life of Studio Art major with a minor in Business?
For me, basically every day is wake up, go to class, and then down time for homework, errands, or catching up on chores, before I have to go to Taiko practice or NSU meetings. Usually in the morning are business classes, art classes in the afternoon, and sometimes studio in the evening.

How do you balance your activities with your schoolwork?
Balancing all these activities and responsibilities has taken a couple of years for me to master.  But I would say the biggest help comes from my planner.  Basically my planner has my whole life in it. Where I need to be at, what I need to do, when I need to get projects, homework, planning, etc. done. Also having awesome board members in my club has been a big help.  I can always delegate tasks to them if I need help, and know that they will help me out.

When you’re not busy balancing school and club events, what do you enjoy doing on your down time?
When I’m not busy with school and club activities, I really enjoy just hanging out with my friends and housemates.  It is honestly one of the highlights of my weeks. Sometimes we just relax and chill at home, watching Netflix, television, movies, playing ridiculous board games and cooking. Other times we go out, have random and memorable nights all over SoCal.

What are you plans for after graduation?
After graduation, I’m going to take a year off of college and look for jobs.  I’m aiming for somewhere in the Art industry, either as a graphic designer or in publishing/advertising.  Hopefully I will attend grad school in the future, maybe somewhere in San Francisco or the east coast.

Who inspires you & what inspires your art pieces?
I think street art or graffiti is always something that has inspired me.  I like how it is open and viewable to the public and the overall gritty-ness of it.  I also appreciate how it is sometimes unexpected. For example you are walking, you turn a corner and there is a beautiful painting on the side of the building.  Or how sometimes you are waiting to cross the street and you see the small and simple phrase or art below a store window.